People who work in health care and aged care risk catching diseases that are preventable through vaccination from infected patients and other contacts.

They can pass these diseases on to vulnerable people in their care, such as young children or older people.

If health care workers get immunised, it helps reduce these risks.

The Australian Immunisation Handbook lists the immunisations recommended for health care workers. They are summarised in the table below. Employers should take all reasonable steps to encourage workers to be vaccinated.

Occupation

Vaccine

All health care workers

Includes all workers and students directly involved in patient care or the handling of human tissue, blood or body fluids

Hepatitis B

Influenza

MMR (if non-immune) **

Pertussis (dTpa)

Varicella (if non-immune)

Health care workers who work in remote Indigenous communities or with Indigenous children in NT, Qld, SA and WA

Other specified healthcare workers in some jurisdictions

Vaccines listed for 'All health care workers', plus hepatitis A

Health care workers who may be at high risk of exposure to drug-resistant cases of tuberculosis (dependent on state or territory guidelines)

Vaccines listed for 'All health care workers', plus consider BCG

** All adults born during or since 1966 should have evidence of either receiving 2 doses of MMR vaccine or having immunity to measles, mumps and rubella. Adults born before 1966 are considered to be immune due to extensive measles, mumps and rubella circulating widely in the community during this period of time.